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Real president: No De Gea move in January

David De Gea: United keeper played for Spain on Tuesday and could face Liverpool

Real Madrid will “definitely not” make a move to sign David de Gea in January, according to club president Florentino Perez.

De Gea was set to join Real on the final day of the transfer window after the Spanish club finally agreed a deal with Manchester United following a summer of speculation. But the transfer was not completed in time – a failure Perez has again tried to blame on United.

It was thought Real might resurrect their interest in De Gea during the winter transfer window, but Perez insists that will not happen, with the Real president also unsure whether De Gea might perform a U-turn and sign a new contract at United after all.

“No definitely not,” was Perez’s response when asked by Spanish radio station Cadena Cope if Real would try to sign De Gea in January. Perez was similarly downbeat over what might happen next summer.

He said: “We are not contemplating that he comes next year.

“He is there and we have three very good goalkeepers. We have not told him not to sign [a new United contract]. He has to do what is best for his career. It is very difficult that he does nothing for a year. When people say: ‘wait for a year and then he comes free,’ that has never happened with any big player.”

Perez also denied that Real must pay a penalty clause to De Gea for not successfully completing his signing this summer: “It is not true. Every day something new comes out and we don’t have to deny everything but these things come out and people believe them to be true.”

United and Real have been involved in a war of words since the deal collapsed, with both sides blaming the other. Perez reiterated his belief that the responsibility lies with the Red Devils.

He said: “You can leave things until the last day, but not until midnight on the last day. Everyone knows that we did everything we could.”